Catching Idle Butterflies

Contact!

It’s 9:37am my time, and already I’m having a great day. I can’t even attribute it to a good night’s sleep or a full load of caffeine in my tummy. I slept okay, and I’ve had only one gulp of coffee. Okay, maybe two now. Nope, I’m almost done with my first cup. I type slow, that and I’m trying to work at the same time. I know, I’m bad.

8:01, not two minutes after I arrived at work, my cell phone rang. I thought, “Who would be calling me now?”

The phone number didn’t look familiar, but I answered thinking it was a wrong number.

“Hello, this is Vanessa, Jim’s wife.”

My tummy went all aflutter, let me tell ya. We only talked for about 10 minutes, but we had a nice conversation. I think she was more nervous than I was. At the end, she said Jim would call me later on today.

My tummy danced a little more at that, I admit, but with anticipation, not dread. Vanessa relayed to me Jim would be nervous about it, though. I told her I understood completely. It’s one thing for a daughter to hear from her father after twenty years, I imagine it’s even more nerve-wracking for the father.

Not 10 minutes later Jim called. We talked for maybe five minutes. He asked me about the conference, said he and Vanessa would be praying for me, and at the end thanked me for letting him call me.

I also thanked him once again for all the books he sent me, especially “Captivating” by John and Stasi Eldridge. If you haven’t yet, that is a must read. Though written specifically for a female audience, men should also read it. It paints an accurate picture of how women think, what they seek in life, and the spiritual and emotional difficulties they face all throughout life.

Jim also told me it was after reading “Captivating” he decided to contact me.

After we hung up, not two minutes later he called back: “I’m sorry I cut the conversation so short,” he said, “I was getting a little emotional. I just wanted you to know that and not think I didn’t want to talk to you.”

I laughed and said, “Not at all. I figured you’re at work, I’m at work and simply didn’t have the time to chat longer.”

Overall, an enjoyable conversation. I liked hearing his voice. It has a joyful quality to it. I wasn’t all that nervous, and that surprises me some. I have you to thank for that, I think.

For the last five years or so, I feared I was turning into a hermit. I had no friends, spending all my time either with my husband or by myself. I had tried making friends, but the people I chose had busy lives and constantly had to cancel any plans we made. I finally gave up. Dave on the other hand has oodles of friends. I rarely answer the phone, because the call is never for me with the exception of telemarketers. With us being on the “Do Not Call” list, I now receive none unless it’s my mom, or Tom.

Blogging and now talking to some of you on the phone has turned me into a bit of a social butterfly. I enjoy chatting on the phone, whereas before I hated it. I’ve even had the courage to ask Wendy, a coworker, to go shopping with me a few times, and we go out to lunch at least once every other week. Another coworker, Ellen, and I have also gone out to lunch a few times.

I had forgotten how fulfilling having friends can be, and I wonder now how anyone can hide themselves away. I speak specifically of my mom, and I’ve noticed my sister, who grew up having lots of friends, is tending more and more into sequestering herself away from others except her husband.

How much of life are they missing out on, and how much are others missing out on the joy of being with them?

Many of us hate being like our parents in many ways. I know I hate being as much like my mom as I am. However, some things can be changed, and being open to others is one thing I can, and am trying to change.

26 more hours before I have to be at the airport! I’m getting excited about it now. I finished all my editing and printing last night. I was surprised I didn’t run out of toner, though I had purchased an extra cartridge (at $71!) just in case. I talked to letgocling yesterday, and we both agreed once we print out our stuff for the conference we can’t take even a peek at them. Doing so will only cause horror because we’ll inevitably see something that needs to be changed. I can’t hand something over to a prospective editor with the attitude, “You know, this really sucks, but could you publish it anyway?” Yeah, that’ll go over well!

And yes, I made sure I have plenty of batteries for my camera!

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Happy Day!
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